Po
Prince Greening Grandemalion (informally known to most as Po) is the youngest son of the Lienid royal family, and seventh in line for the throne. He is Graced with a form of mind reading that allows him to know one's thoughts, feelings, and intentions towards him, as well as perceive where everyone and everything is in relation to himself. Because people tend to mistrust mind-reading Gracelings and his mother and grandfather feared he would never be able to live a normal life, he was convinced to pass it off as a fighting Grace since he was very young. The Lienid royal family's long history of producing excellent hand-fighters further lent to this deception. History Background Greening was born to King Ror and Queen Zinnober, raised in Lienid alongside his six older brothers. He was given a color-themed name as is the tradition in Lienid. Sometime when he was young, his eyes changed color - one silver and the other gold - revealing he was a Graceling. Lienid is the only kingdom where Gracelings do not become the property of the monarch after their eyes settle, and are even honored, so Po faced no prejudice for his Grace. However, he was constantly aware of the lie he was telling to his family and his kingdom, and how their perceptions of him would change if they ever knew the truth. His family gave him the nickname "Po," after Po trees that grow only in Lienid, the leaves of which turn gold and silver in the fall. Queen Zinnober and Ror's father spotted Po's Grace early on. Realizing even his own brothers might not trust him if they knew their thoughts weren't private, and anticipating a future where he would be used in the political machinations of his father and his brothers, they taught him to hide his gift and forbade him to ever tell anyone. After seeing how much of an advantage it gave him while play-fighting with his brothers, as his mind-reading Grace allowed him to know his opponent's intentions, they decided fighting should be his "official" Grace. Po grew up in his father Ror's castle on top of a mountain. As Lienid is an island nation, and Ror prided himself of keeping out of the petty quarrels and other businesses of the five mainland kings, Po presumably grew up isolated from any other royal family. Graceling When the royal family in Lienid received word that the king's father, Prince Tealiff, had been kidnapped, Po left Lienid and began to search for his grandfather in the other kingdoms. The mystery of who would want to capture Grandfather Tealiff was a tricky one, as he was an old man with no ambition, whose greatest joy in life was his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Tealiff held no political value, so the only other motivation the kidnapper could have was leverage over Tealiff's family (Lienid was the wealthiest of the nations): but no ransom demand or anything of the sort ever arrived. Po was deeply suspicious. His investigations led him to Sunder, ruled by King Murgon, though despite his perceptive Grace he could not discern whether his grandfather was there, and never got close enough to the dungeons to sense his grandfather's mind there. However, he knew that his presence in Murgon's court gave the king discomfort, which was a large indicator that his grandfather was being held there or that Murgon at least knew something, but he also knew that Murgon was motivated solely by money and never acted without the prompting of another. Grandfather Tealiff, was, in fact, being held in Murgon's dungeons, and Po first met Lady Katsa of the Middluns when he unknowingly interrupted the tail end of her rescue of his grandfather. He realized who she was when he discovered that she was a woman and an incredibly good Graced fighter. As his mind-reading Grace only pertains to people's perception of him, he could not discern from Katsa's mind that she had rescued his grandfather, but gleaned enough of her purpose and the feel of her mind to trust her, and decided to let her go. Though reluctantly, Katsa took this opportunity to knock him out, to protect herself and her associates and to get Tealiff to safety as soon as possible (though this was a mercy in itself, as part of her felt she should have killed him). Upon waking up, Po realized from the reports of a 'theft' from Murgon's court and Murgon's insistent belief that Po had something to do with it that Murgon had indeed been holding his grandfather, and that Katsa had rescued him. Having no further purpose in Murgon's court, he set off for Randa City in the Middluns, to find his grandfather and Katsa. TBC Bitterblue TBA. Character Personality TBA. Appearance Po is described as a very handsome man of about nineteen or twenty years. He has dark skin and hair like most Lienid, but where the Lienid have grey eyes Po has one gold and and one silver. His eyes are cat-like and the 'strangest in all the kingdoms', and according to Katsa glow with an almost unnatural light. He has traditional Lienid markings around his upper arms, and wears gold hoops in his ears and many gold rings, each with a special significance. Abilities TBA. Relationships TBA. Category:Characters Category:Graceling Category:Bitterblue